Endoscopic and laparoscopic surgical instruments are often preferred over traditional open surgical devices since a smaller incision tends to reduce the post-operative recovery time and complications. The use of laparoscopic and endoscopic surgical procedures has been relatively popular and has provided additional incentive to develop the procedures further. In laparoscopic procedures, surgery is performed in the interior of the abdomen through a small incision. Similarly, in endoscopic procedures, surgery is performed in any hollow viscus of the body through narrow endoscopic tubes inserted through small entrance wounds in the skin.
Laparoscopic and endoscopic procedures generally require that the surgical region be insufflated. Accordingly, any instrumentation inserted into the body must be sealed to ensure that gases do not enter or exit the body through the incision. Moreover, laparoscopic and endoscopic procedures often require the surgeon to act on organs, tissues and/or vessels far removed from the incision. Thus, instruments used in such procedures are typically long and narrow while being functionally controllable from a proximal end of the instrument.
Significant development has gone into a range of endoscopic surgical instruments that are suitable for precise placement of a distal end effector at a desired surgical site through a cannula of a trocar. These distal end effectors engage the tissue in a number of ways to achieve a diagnostic or therapeutic effect (e.g., endocutter, grasper, cutter, staplers, clip applier, access device, drug/gene therapy delivery device, and energy device using ultrasound, RF, laser, etc.).
Known surgical staplers include an end effector that simultaneously makes a longitudinal incision in tissue and applies lines of staples on opposing sides of the incision. The end effector includes a pair of cooperating jaw members that, if the instrument is intended for endoscopic or laparoscopic applications, are capable of passing through a cannula passageway. One of the jaw members receives a staple cartridge having at least two laterally spaced rows of staples. The other jaw member defines an anvil having staple-forming pockets aligned with the rows of staples in the cartridge. The instrument includes a plurality of reciprocating wedges which, when driven distally, pass through openings in the staple cartridge and engage drivers supporting the staples to effect the firing of the staples toward the anvil.
Recently, an improved “E-beam” firing bar was described for a surgical stapling and severing instrument that advantageously included a top pin that slides within an internal slot formed in the upper jaw (anvil) and has a middle pin and bottom foot that slides on opposite sides of a lower jaw of an end effector, or more particularly a staple applying assembly. Distal to the middle pin, a contacting surface actuates a staple cartridge held within an elongate staple channel that forms the lower jaw. Between the contacting surface and the top pin, a cutting surface, or knife, severs tissue clamped between the anvil and the staple cartridge of the lower jaw. Since both jaws are thus engaged by the E-beam, the E-beam maintains a desired spacing between the jaws to ensure proper staple formation. Thus, if a lesser amount of tissue is clamped, the E-beam holds up the anvil to ensure sufficient spacing for the staples to properly form against an undersurface of the anvil. In addition, if a greater amount of tissue is clamped, the E-beam draws down the anvil to ensure that the spacing does not exceed the length of the staple such that ends of each staple are not sufficiently bent to achieve a desired degree of retention. Such an E-beam firing bar is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/443,617, entitled SURGICAL STAPLING INSTRUMENT INCORPORATING AN E-BEAM FIRING MECHANISM, filed on May 20, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,978,921, issued Dec. 27, 2005, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
While an E-beam firing bar has many advantages for a surgical stapling and severing instrument, often it is desirable to sever and staple tissue of various thicknesses. A thin layer of tissue may result in staples that only form loosely, perhaps requiring the need for bolstering material. A thick layer of tissue may result in formed staples that exert a strong compressive force on the captured tissue, perhaps resulting in necrosis, bleeding or poor staple formation/retention. Rather than limiting the range of tissue thicknesses that are appropriate for a given surgical stapling and severing instrument, it would be desirable to accommodate a wider range of tissue thickness with the same surgical stapling and severing instrument.
Consequently, a significant need exists for an improved surgical stapling and severing instrument that incorporates a staple applying assembly (end effector) that adjusts to the amount of tissue that is clamped.
In addition, the staple drivers that are commonly employed in existing staple applying assemblies are traditionally made as stiff as possible to assure proper “B” form staple height. Because of this stiff construction, these drivers do not provide any flexibility for adjusting the formed height of the staple to a particular thickness of tissue clamped within the assembly.
Thus, another significant need exists for staple drivers that are able to facilitate the adjustment of the formed height of the staples in response to variations in tissue thickness.
In various types of endocutter arrangements, the anvil is opened and closed by axially actuating a closure tube assembly that serves to interface with closure features on the proximal end of the anvil. The anvil is commonly formed with trunnions that are received in somewhat elongated slots in the proximal end of the channel. The trunnions serve to pivotally support the staple cartridge and permit the anvil to move into axial alignment while pivoting to a closed position. Unfortunately, however, this arrangement lacks means for limiting or adjusting the amount of clamping forces applied to the anvil during the clamping process. Thus, the same amount of clamping forces generated by the closure tube assembly are applied to the anvil regardless of the thickness of the tissue to be clamped therein. Such arrangement can result in thinner tissues being over clamped which could lead to excessive bleeding and possibly damage or even destroy the tissue.
Thus, there is another need for a closure system that includes means for limiting or adjusting the amount of closure forces applied to the anvil based on the thickness of the tissue to be clamped between the anvil and the staple cartridge.
In certain types of surgical procedures the use of surgical staples has become the preferred method of joining tissue, and, specially configured surgical staplers have been developed for these applications. For example, intra-luminal or circular staplers have been developed for use in a surgical procedure known as an anastomosis. Circular staplers useful to perform an anastomosis are disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,104,025 and 5,309,927, which are each herein incorporated by reference.
An anastomosis is a surgical procedure wherein sections of intestine are joined together after a connecting section has been excised. The procedure requires joining the ends of two tubular sections together to form a continuous tubular pathway. Previously, this surgical procedure was a laborious and time consuming operation. The surgeon had to precisely cut and align the ends of the intestine and maintain the alignment while joining the ends with numerous suture stitches. The development of circular staplers has greatly simplified the anastomosis procedure and also decreased the time required to perform an anastomosis.
In general, a conventional circular stapler typically consists of an elongated shaft having a proximal actuating mechanism and a distal stapling mechanism mounted to the shaft. The distal stapling mechanism typically consists of a fixed stapling cartridge containing a plurality of staples configured in a concentric circular array. A round cutting knife is concentrically mounted in the cartridge interior to the staples. The knife is moveable in an axial, distal direction. Extending axially from the center of the cartridge is a trocar shaft. The trocar shaft is moveable, axially, with respect to the cartridge and elongated shaft. An anvil member is mounted to the trocar shaft. The anvil member has a conventional staple anvil mounted to it for forming the ends of the staples. The distance between the distal face of the staple cartridge and the staple anvil is controlled by an adjustment mechanism mounted to the proximal end of the stapler shaft. Tissue contained between the staple cartridge and the staple anvil is simultaneously stapled and cut when the actuating mechanism is engaged by the surgeon.
When performing an anastomosis using a circular stapler, typically, the intestine is stapled using a conventional surgical stapler with double rows of staples being emplaced on either side of a target section (i.e., specimen) of intestine. The target section is typically simultaneously cut as the section is stapled. Next, after removing the specimen, the surgeon typically inserts the anvil into the proximal end of the lumen, proximal of the staple line. This is done by inserting the anvil head into an entry port cut into the proximal lumen by the surgeon. On occasion, the anvil can be placed transanally, by placing the anvil head on the distal end of the stapler and inserting the instrument through the rectum. Typically the distal end of the stapler is inserted transanally. The surgeon then ties the proximal end of the intestine to the anvil shaft using a suture or other conventional tying device. Next, the surgeon cuts excess tissue adjacent to the tie and the surgeon attaches the anvil to the trocar shaft of the stapler. The surgeon then closes the gap between the anvil and cartridge, thereby engaging the proximal and distal ends of the intestine in the gap. The surgeon next actuates the stapler causing several rows of staples to be driven through both ends of the intestine and formed, thereby joining the ends and forming a tubular pathway. Simultaneously, as the staples are driven and formed, a concentric circular blade is driven through the intestinal tissue ends, cutting the ends adjacent to the inner row of staples. The surgeon then withdraws the stapler from the intestine and the anastomosis is complete.
During the stapling process, however, the surgeon must be careful not to over compress the material that is being stapled to avoid killing or detrimentally damaging that tissue. While some prior staplers are fitted with an indicator mechanism for providing the surgeon with some indication of the spacing between the anvil and the staple cartridge, it is desirable for the stapler to include a mechanism that provides a means for avoiding over compression of the tissue.